Buffalo Chickpea Bowl

& taking care of myself

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes, musings, and faves in your inbox every Wednesday! Paid subscribers get even more! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

This has been a week of self-care, at the deepest level. I’ve been making appointments to set up acupuncture, therapy, etc. to really just make sure I’m keeping on track. This has included a lot of pilates and yoga as well! And buying lots of vegetables and playing around with nourishing foods in the kitchen vs planning specific recipe content. Something else I’ve been doing is stopping myself from scrolling TikTok, which I think has been refreshing.

This has been a harder year for sure, and I’m definitely struggling to manage some of it. Everything has been a bit wackadoodle, and I’m trying to do everything in my power to try to keep myself afloat.

THINGS I’M LOVING!

If you enjoy cult documentaries, I recommend watching the Love Has Won Documentary on HBO Max. I will warn, it gets pretty disturbing at the end, but it’s the fascinating story of a woman who called herself Mother God and convinced her followers she was communicating with Robin Williams. She also turns blue from colloidal silver. That’s all I say for now.

Something about me is that I hated wearing lip gloss growing up because I felt like it accentuated my lips and made them look too big. LOL can you imagine? It is truly a different time. Anyway, now I have been wearing Rhode’s Peptide Lip Tints non-stop, and I am truly obsessed with how it looks. The tube reminds me of Juicy Tubes from back in the 2000s (who remembers?!), but I love how the gloss feels and looks on my lips. Elevated, but not over the top. My favorite shade is toast!

Grant got us these little battery-powered lamps for our small nightstands in the guest room, and I think they’re so cute! I’ve also been seeing people use lights like these in their kitchen to create evening moodiness, and I love it!

RECIPE!

There’s not much that needs to be said about this recipe, EXCEPT that I know that the blue cheese is going to be controversial. And that’s okay! You have my permission to leave it out, and the dish and will be far from ruined.

Ingredients (serves 2)

Chickpeas & Cauliflower

• 1 (14.5 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• 1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets

• 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (use 1/2 tsp for less spicy)

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1 1/2 tbsp buffalo sauce (I used Primal Kitchen’s!)

• Salt & pepper

Bowl

• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (about 3/4 cup uncooked)

• 2 heaping cups of arugula

• 1/2 cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)

• 2 carrots, julienned

• 2 tbsp blue cheese

• 1/4 cup pickled red onion (can also use regular red onion)

Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing

• 1 cup Greek yogurt

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp chopped dill

• 1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar

• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Add the chickpeas and cauliflower florets to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, but keep them separated. Toss them both in olive oil, cayenne, and garlic powder (still keeping them separate), and season them with salt and pepper. Bake for 20-30 minutes until both cauliflower and chickpeas begin to turn golden and crispy. When they’re finished roasting, set the cauliflower aside, and add the chickpeas to a small bowl. Toss with the buffalo sauce until evenly coated.

2. While the chickpeas and cauliflower are roasting, prepare the quinoa if you haven’t already. Chop your vegetables, and then prepare the Greek yogurt ranch dressing by mixing everything together in a small bowl.

3. When everything is ready, assemble your bowl. Add the quinoa, followed by the arugula and then the buffalo chickpeas, cauliflower, carrots, and celery. Top with the ranch sauce and finish off with the blue cheese and pickled onions.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week, paid subscribers received a recipe for a squash pasta! This luscious sauce is plant-based and made with butternut squash, coconut milk, and miso!